Continuous process of solidification of liquid hydrocarbons



. H. NEVEU CONTINUOUS PROCESS OF SOLIDIFICATION OF LIQUID HYDROCARBOflS Filed April '5, 1922 2 Shee ts-Sheet 1 H.NEVEU CONTINUOUS PROCESS OF SQLIDIFICATION OF LIQUID HYDROCARBONS Filed April 5, 1922 2 Shets-Shet 2 174320292"? /V3&ez.

Patented Feb. 3, .1925.

sing out thesubsequent solidification.

My invention is applicable irrespect1vely= N T D. ST E ATE I E;

H nirroiixrn nnynu,

or ar s, rRAncEQ 1 commuous raocnss or soLinIrIcA'rIoN' on mm nxnnochanon's] f 1 Application filed April 3,

TaaZZ whom it may concern." a

Be it known that I, HIPPOLYTE 'NEVEU, citizen of the Republic of France, in Paris, France, haveinvented acertain new.v and useful- Continuous Process of solidification of Liquid "Hydrocarbons," of which the following is a'specification; It has been proposed to soli'dify'hydrocarbons suchsas petroleum and the likeby' emulsifyingthe sameby means of suitable solutions with-a. subsequent hardening of the emulsion either a simple drying or preferably by the use of an adequate reagent.- To this effect products of a-widely varying, nature have-been proposed both for producing-the emulsion and for carryof the products which may be used for effecting the emulsion and forthe hardening of I the same, and it relates to the followingfeatures: so I .On the one hand, liquid hydrocarbon is brought continuously and in a relatively small amount into contact with an alreadyemulsified mass, and it is submitted simul-' taneously to the action of the emulsifierii and ofa mixing device, and on; the other hand, emulsified hydrocarbon is concurrent= 1y; withdrawn from the mass in a continuous manner. The already emul sified mass of hydrocarbon will facilitate the emulsifying of. the small quantity of liquid hydrocarbon supplied thereto, in the same manner as in chemical VOPGIBJSIOIIS a catalyst facilitates a chemical reaction, so

that the emulsion is formed in a short time and with the expenditure of a minimum amount of mechanical energy.

My invention further vrelates to the continuo'ustreatment ofzthe emulsion thus obtained by a hardening substance, and this second operation may be performed not only in a vessel which is'distlnct from the one" used for the first mentioned treatment but also in the same vessel, the twore-i actions being preferably carried out in regions which are at different distances from the dischargejoutletofthe products.

The details of the said processand ofits various methods ofv execution. will be set forth hereunder .with reference to the secondary means which areutilized.

The accompanying drawings are'given by way of example, and in no-wise limit the scope of my invention. Y

bath 19 whereby they 1922. Serial no} 549,141. 1

Fig. 1-is a diagrammatic general '"view fof the. first installation for the continuous residing treatment-f of" hydrocarbons, wherein a oer-j ta1'n"numb'er of the: foregoing principles fl have beenput racti e;- Fi 2 is a diagra'mmatic general View of a similar'iinstal "lation for thecontinuouS"treatmentl'of'the' same. I i t g 7 As shown in Fig. 1', 1 indicates an emulsifying receptacle provided 'with a double envelope 2 which is traversed bya fluid such as tepid'water, steam or'the like, raised toa suitable temperature for the formation of the given emulsion. The said. rece tacle 7 contains the elements which serve the ou'ble 1 purpose of mixing elements and feeding elements for the rawmaterial, the said" elements being herein constituted'fby the forks 3,4 revoluble together withthe "respective' shafts '5, 6 throu h theintermediary of the gear wheels -,i"8 respectively, engaging a common gearwheel9 which"is" actuated by the -pinion 1O"w1th the required power. The" forks 3, fare sodisposed that'So the paths of the mixing arms shall be caused to intersect. The hydrocarbons" to be solidi-'- ed,"-such as crude petroleum or petroleum residues, enter through a' worm tube '11" provided with -a feeding cock 12 which is connected through a suitable packing member with the revoluble shaft 5, the latter-hav ing formed ther ein the'duct 13ending' at '14 at-difi'erent heights upon the mixing arms 3 ready emulsified. v

The substance serving-to produce the and within the-mass of hydrocarbons alan emulsion, for example a liquid glue, is-

caused 'to'ententhrough' a worm tube 15' ending in a feeding cook 16 connected with the duct 17"0f theshaft 6,]the said duct opening laterally at 18 into" the receptacle 1, The two worm tubes 11 andE15 areheated "I t by any-suitableme'ans, for'exa-mple a liquid are brought to the a stant proportions ofthe constituents entera ing into the emulsion. ,O ther mixing ele- Vn1ents20, 21 similar to the preceding 3 and 4 may be disposedbelow"the latter in order completely, nish the mulsiqn. b o discharging the mass from the receptacle 1 Y through the orifice 22. Theevacuation of the emulsified products intothe'said receatficleis controlled by means of a valve 7 e emulsified. products? are ,-.caused a to Pa s f h us hi c a iki r -2 mixed with the har'deni'n product, for extac e is similar to the rece tacle l, and. is

provided ,with mixing e ements/2 7V, ,28 mounted vrespe'ecti'vely on the shafts"29,;- I aset of gearing, 31,

which are actuated I p 32, 33 whereof the rivings-spinion 34 jzalso ser es to; actuate the drivinggear wheel 35 oi the screw conveyor 25; p ,The hardening product, fformaldehyde for example, .TentersH the receptaclei-26 througha tube 36 providedwwith a feeding cock-37 [which'is connected through an; ade

' ,qua-te packing "member with the shaft 30 havin formed; therein" a duct 38 connected with ifieientsmall ducts 39 opening at dif-., ferent heights along the; mixing .arms 28. The treated products a are. i bro'ught in an an: a 1 tomaticfl mannenby. their, ownfwei ht and byreason of the inclined bottom '0 .the 're cepta'cle to "the orifice; 401proyided with the va ye 41 opening into, the chamber 42 :Which J containsa SCI'BWICOIIIVGXQD and discharge dejyice 43yleadin to an orifice 44 for-the supply oithe m0 ding 'apparatus ln the ,pres-.,

ent case the 7 said apparatus comprises a g conveyor chain. 4T- whereof each llnk 'carries a mold, theconsistent mass which is obtained being caused to fall upon or. to be. forced; To this eflect the chain L into the said molds. is actuated by a suitable,mechanism;. .v

The bl 'cksi'or bricks 46 which 1 are thus obtained and'are emptied out ini an auto 'matic manner by the said-chain may bere ceived upon a continuous belt conveyor 47 V serving, to 4 transport the same .to suitable in .plaoes either in -freepair or of-the;

i type wherein the hardening takes,

gFig. 2 {stilts} similar; immune if stallation ig.;-1.'. Invthis'cjase ,thefformation rof the petroleum emulsion and the mix+ ing vof the same "with 'thefihardening sub; I

, stance are vefiectedgin sarsingle receptacle;

" and on the other hand the productsresultingirom; this treatment are'mixed in a sec-vi 0nd rece tacle with a suitable fuel inthe powder state or broken ginto small fr A mentsyf48; represents the treatin receptac e which is provided; withjadoub e; envelope 49 contaimnga fluid such as tepid water or steam at a suitable temperature for. the said s. n; ng a. screw conveyor; device 2 5 and are; fed; into a secondmreceptacle 26 wherein they" a e:

operation. ,The said receptacle disposed therein the emulsifying elements "50, ,51

which are herein constituted by forks revoluble together'with'the' shafts thereof 52, 53 and sodisposed as to provide -for the in- 'tersec'tio'nlof theirpa thsofmovement.- The said elements are-actuated respectively by the gear wheels 54, 55 engaging a'common pinion 56 which is actuated from; asuitable source of a power, by meansof the gear 57.

The emulsifying 5 arms: '50 herein] serve the double purpose. of: mixing elements and 20f elementshfor feeding the-raw material, and to,this-efl'ect-suitable, ducts areyiOrmed in" the said, upwardly extending arms and are caused to open; at. 58 at-the; upper part thereof, being-connectedby aydu'ct '59 with a feeding cock 60 which is adapted" to receive: 4 from a worm fildisposed-sin the bath .62 at constant temperature,- on thejonexhand the hydrocarbon supplied through the f piping;

s 63, and, on the other. :hand the :emulsifyingyf substance supplied -throughtthesecond pi h ing 64', the cooks 65 and ,66 serving to'regu-i'i late the respective supply afforded": by the ,said'piping in each case- The-mixture "of hydrocarbons and emulsifying substance is fed out-by overflow from "the, orifices 58 and is distributed throughout'the already emuls sified mass 67 whereby the emulsion can-be formed; in. an extremely. ra id manner. The, emulsified mass will 7 t en descend i gradually in the receptacle 48 and willreach thelevel of the mixing elements 68,69 which 52,153, the 'pat saofcmovement ofsthe'same i being also 'causedato;f.intersect Themixing elements 69 have stormed at thewlower ends 5 thereof the orificesQi'O which are connected through a duct 71- and "a cook 72 with the are} respectivel' mounted ,upon "the shafts supply; piping f 7 3-for the 'xhardenin sub? .stance,v which latter'is; thereby instant y distributed throughout theemulsified; mass; and thelatter isithen discharged'th 'oughqx I r v L m i A valve7 5 servestoregulatethe discharge of the product through the chamber. '7 6; con-'=- .taining a screw conveyorldevice 77.17111 the I resent case th'e'said chamber is surrounded y a double envelope rls which is} maintained at agfsuitable temperature. On the axis of the,conveyor 77.is disposed at feed-r iingzdevice 79 .mounted below the hopper F 80 'which QntainS powdered' or broken 1 incl, whereby; the feedingv in adequate =pro-" portions intol' t hevreee tacle 81 shall be carriedi out bOthFfoii the: ydrocarbon which is now. in arconsistent state and ready to be solidified by coolingand drying, and-for the said fuel which'iisto be ag lomeratede The receptacle81*isprovided as forthe receptech 48) with aidouble envelo e'maintained at constant temperature; in a l cases where a. this may be required.

The mixing of the hydrocarbon and the said fuel is eifected by means of the mixing elements 82, 83 mounted respectively on the shafts 84, 85 which latter are actuated by a set of gearing 86, 87, 88, 89 as in the preceding case; the, pinion 89 actuates by means of the pinion 90 the screw conveyor 77 and the feeding device '1' 9, the said pinion being preferably driven in synchronism with the pinion 56. The products which are emulsified in the receptacle 81 are discharged through the orifice 91, whose section is regulated by the valve 92, and are caused to travel through the chamber 93 containing the screw conveyor device 94: wherefrom they are delivered into the spout 95 for supplying the molds, die plates or presses w ich serve to produce the suitable shapes for the drying and hardening.

Should the hydrocarbons be mixed with a pulverized solid fuel, the hardening substance may be incorporated with the mass exclusively in the presence of the said fuel, that is to say in thereceptacle 81.

I declare that what I claim is:

1. The process of continuous solidification of hydrocarbon liquids consisting in supplying in a continuous manner and in small quantity the liquid hydrocarbon and the emulsifier in contact with a mass of already emulsified hydrocarbon which is mixed in a continuous manner by an agitating device, the emulsion being simultaneously evacuated in a continuous manner and in a quantity corresponding to the quantity of hydrocarbon and emulsifier simultaneously admitted.

2. The process of continuous solidification of hydrocarbon liquids consisting in supplying in a continuous manner and in small quantity the liquid hydrocarbon and the emulsifier within the mass of an already emulsified hydrocarbon which is mixed in a continuous manner by an agitating device, the said emulsion being simultaneously evacuated in a continuous manner and in the quantity corresponding to the uantities of hydrocarbon and of emulsier admitted.

3. The process of continuous solidification of hydrocarbon liquids consisting in supplying in a continuous manner and in small quantity the li uid hydrocarbon and the emulsifier above t e surface of already emulsified hydrocarbon which is mixed in a continuous manner by an agitating devlce, the emulsion being simultaneously evacuated in a continuous manner and in a quantit corresponding to the quantity of hydrocar on and emulsifier simultaneously admitted.

4. The process of continuous solidification of hydrocarbon liquids consisting in bringing in acontinuous manner the hydrocarbon liquid and the emulsifier in contact with the already emulsified mass of hydro carbon which is mixed in a continuous man nor by an agitating device, whilst a hardening substance is simultaneously introduced in a continuous manner at another point in the emulsion, the said emulsion being simultaneously evacuated in a continuous manner and in a quantity corresponding to the quantities of hydrocarbon and of emulsifying and hardening substances employed.

5. The process of continuous solidification of hydrocarbon liquids consisting in supplying through mixing arms in a continuous manner and in small quantity the hydrocarbon liquid and the emulsifier as to bring the same into contact with an already emulsified mass which is mixed in a continuous manner by the said mixing arms, the said emulsion being simultaneously evacuatedin a continuous; manner and in a quantity correspondin to the quantities of hydrocarbon and o emulsifier employed.

6. The process of continuous solidification of hydrocarbon liquids consisting in supplying in a continuous manner and in small quantity the hydrocarbon liquid and the emulsifier through mixing arms into the interior of an already emulsified mass, the said emulsion being evacuated in a continuous manner and in a quantity corresponding to the quantities of hydrocarbon and of emulsifier employed.

7. The process of continuous solidification of hydrocarbon liquids consisting in supplying in a continuous manner and in small quantity the hydrocarbon liquid and the emulsifier through mixin a mass of already emulsified the emulsion being evacuated in a continuarms above 7 v ydrocarbons,

ous manner and in a quantity corresponding to the quantities of hydrocarbon and of emulsifier previously admitted.

8. The process of continuous solidification of hydrocarbon liquids which consists in supplying through mixing arms in a con tinuous manner the hydrocarbon liquid and the emulsifier so as to bring the same into contact with an already emulsified mass of hydrocarbon whilst a hardenin sub stance is simultaneously admitted t rou 11 other mixing arms to another point of t e emulsion, the said emulsion being simultaneously evacuated in a continuous manner and in a quantity correspondin to the quantity of the products employed.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

HIPPOLYTE NEVEU. 

